The Ameren Missouri Emergency Operations Center has opened to oversee the distribution of crews and resources. With severe storms approaching large parts of the Ameren Missouri service area, the company is mobilizing personnel, equipment and other resources to help ensure that it can respond quickly if the storms result in significant power outages. Ameren Missouri is also urging customers to prepare as well, by taking certain precautions to ensure safety and minimize the impact of any outages that do occur.
A key part of Ameren Missouri’s storm response plan is Quantum Weather™ which gives Ameren Missouri the ability to track the direction and intensity of approaching storms to help identify what areas are likely to be hardest hit, so crews, materials and logistical resources can be sent to those areas in advance of the storm.
Along with monitoring the forecast, Ameren Missouri has called on its Midwest Mutual Assistance partners to bring in several hundred additional linemen and the company has called in several hundred contractors to work with Ameren Missouri crews once the storm hits. Ameren Missouri is working with Missouri Emergency Management to make preparations.
To help ensure that Ameren Missouri repair crews have the materials they need, where they need them, Ameren Missouri has six mobile warehouses—called Storm Trailers—which can be dispatched where needed. These 53-foot trailers are stocked with material such as wire, poles, cross arms and hardware that crews typically need to repair electrical facilities damaged by storms. At this hour, crews and equipment are being moved to targeted areas based on current forecasts.
Ameren Missouri urges customers to prepare for storms by making sure they have a battery-powered radio and flashlights available, along with drinking water, canned/no-cook foods, a first aid kit and a supply of any necessary medications.
If you do lose power, report it to Ameren Missouri at 1.800.552.7583. And if you see any downed power lines, not only report them to Ameren Missouri, but also stay away from them and warn others to do so, too.
Ameren Missouri has significantly enhanced electric reliability in recent years by putting many power lines underground. Since mid-2007, more than 189 miles of new underground cables have been installed in key areas where undergrounding was determined to provide the greatest benefits in preventing storm-related power outages.
Over that same period, Ameren Missouri also increased its tree-trimming efforts, line inspections, and other reliability improvement programs. The company trimmed trees away from more than 14,300 miles of power lines, inspected 785,000 poles, and replaced 7,400 poles.
The latest reliability data shows these improvements have been working, increasing the company’s reliability scores over the period in which this work has taken place.
Additional information on Ameren Missouri’s storm preparation and restoration procedures, status of current outages and important safety tips can be found at AmerenMissouri.com.
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Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than a century, and our electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. We serve 1.2 million electric and 126,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. Our mission is to meet their energy needs in a safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Our service area covers 63 counties and more than 500 towns, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit AmerenMissouri.com.